Radical Dreamer
by LockePhilote
Summary: Sora and Namine adventuring throughout the universe. Sora/Namine, maybe other pairings to come.


**This is a reimagining of what happened after Chain of Memories. There are some major differences between here and the end of that game. For starters, Sora was not placed into stasis. Zexion (barely) survived Axel's assassination attempt in the Castle, and Marluxia is confirmed to be a sadist. The other differences will become apparent upon reading, but these clarifications will help everything make sense right from the beginning. Also, may the owner of a green Buick, license number LTS3642, please report to my office. Your diagonal curved jet engine is over cooling. Thank you. **

Radical Dreamer

A tale of Namine, Sora, and their many misadventures

Chapter 1: The Memory Witch

The girl sat, her back arched into a slump, her face in her hands, slightly obscured from outside view by her luminous blonde hair. She was shaking, her shoulders jarring slightly upwards after every one of her soft, girlish sobs. In her lap lay the tear stained pages of a notebook, its open page emblazoned with a beautifully drawn tropical island, with a boy and a girl sitting on the curved trunk of a palm tree, hands clasped as they stared out into the sunset, the girls head on the boys shoulder. A few winged hearts danced above their heads, glowing a brilliant red in the orange of suns dying light.

The slight sounds of her sobs echoed throughout the 13th floor of Castle Oblivion, disturbing the almost forbidding silence that filled the castles mysterious halls. A different kind of echo filled the halls as well, the echo of memories of days past, of a kiss that never was, of a love that was never quite meant to be. It was an echo of infinite heartbreak, a lingering remnant of loss and sorrow and the death of dreams. An echo that screamed in its whisper that there was no such thing as love for someone who was never supposed to exist, that she was nothing more than an echo of the waves crashing upon the shores of a distant island, doomed to fade away and be forgotten. Not worthy of remembrance, barely worthy of a name, though the one the Organization had fitted her with was quite fitting for her. In a language of a distant world, it meant "wave".

The girl shot a glance down at the drawing and started sobbing even harder. All her hopes, all her dreams, shattered to pieces and scattered to the winds of memory.

He had saved her. After all she had done to him, all the games she had played with his memories, all the ways she had used his heart to fulfill her wishes, … he had saved her. She remembered lying on the floor in front of Marluxia, bruised and battered, waiting for the killing blow to come, for the dream to end. A grim smile on his face, Marluxia whipped his scythe down at her with all the grace of a dancer, all the precision of a master assassin.

Out of nowhere, a spinning baton of light rushed into view, knocking the scythe off its mortal path, almost wrenching the weapon from the Nobody's hands. The baton disappeared in a sparkle of sea shells, and reappeared in the hands of a lone figure running up the corridor towards them.

An incredulous look appeared on Marluxia's face. "You would save her, the one who had bound you with chains of memories, who had taken all you loved from you and replaced it with naught but falsehoods?"

The determined glint of pissed off rage in Sora's eyes said it all. He smiled fiercely as he screeched to a halt, no more than 5 feet away from where namine lay. He hefted the keyblade and called out "I always fight for my friends, no matter what. She just wanted someone to be there for her, to be her friend! It was you cruel bastards who twisted her desire to your own ends. So… I give you one last chance. Let Namine go, or else!"

"Key bearer, you are more a fool than I ever thought. No matter, there is another who I can use for my purposes. Now, prepare to meet your DOOM!" Marluxia shouted as he leaped into the air, coat billowing behind him.

Namine turned to Sora, her eyes begging him to stop this madness, to not fight the flowered demon for her sake, to run to Kairi as she had told him to do before and have the sight of her restore his memories. He shot a small, sad smile at her, his eyes containing the same gleam as before, and then the battle was joined.

It was a clash of two great rainbows, the washed out roses and marigolds of Marluxia against the vibrant reds and greens of Sora, winner take all, no punches pulled. A glorious show of colors and sounds, an extravaganza of that mysterious quality known as "razzle-dazzle" , all for the sake of an audience of one, the only ticket bearer to a sold out event in her honor.

Its end, however, was a grand finale to top them all. Marluxia leaped back from the fray, gracefully gliding backwards to deliver the final blow on Namine, an almost evil smile lighting his eyes with a horrendous fire. As he was passing overhead, Namine, though still extremely weak, leapt and grabbed onto his ankle. Distracted, Marluxia glanced down in shock, giving Sora the opening he needed. Once again the keyblade went spinning through the air, striking Marluxia square in the chest, the pure enraged power of Soras throw causing it to rip right through Marluxia. A surprised look in his eyes, he still managed a small smile before he burst into shadow.

Namine fell to the floor with a soft thud, cringing as she landed on her vast array of bruises and abrasions. She heard herself gasp in pain, and then the distant sounds of footsteps, a voice crying out her name. Sora was above her now, a slight glimmer of tears replacing the rage in his eyes, though he gently smiled down at her as he examined her injuries. That smile was the last thing she saw as she slipped into darkness.

When she woke up, she was lying in an astoundingly comfortable bed in a room that, while vaguely familiar, she knew for certain she had never seen before in her life. Sparsely, yet comfortably furnished, it shouted, or maybe sang, the words "simple and clean" in a quiet, subtle way. Hoping against hope, she looked around the room, hoping to spy her savior. Sora was nowhere to be seen, and Namine knew, somehow, that he had abandoned her, like any sane person would.

Instead, lying on a small table, she spotted one of her many sketchpads, opened to a page that she knew as well as she knew her own reflection in her small mirror. Many a night she had spent by gazing longingly at it, wishing desperately for the scene so artfully sketched onto it to become reality, crying almost uncontrollably at the nightly realization that it never could be, never would be real. That she was a bloody fool for even daring to have that secret, radical dream of hers. Shakily, she rose to her feet and slowly walked over to the chair.

_I was a fool for even daring to hope this would turn out otherwise_ she thought as the hot tears poured down her face, stinging her unhealed bruises and scrapes with their saltiness. _Of course he would choose her over me, the real one over the fake memory witch. I was never even an option in his mind. I never deserved to be, not after what I did to him. _

The girl known as Namine slowly got up and, setting aside her sketch pad, wiped the tears from her eyes. Though her heart was heavier and more sorrowful than ever, and she felt like doing nothing more than curling into a ball and dying, sitting around feeling sorry for herself wasn't going to solve anything. She raised a hand to summon a dark portal when, to her surprise, she heard the sound of footsteps coming from behind her. She froze in fright and horror, her mind preparing for the worst. _What if its Marluxia! No, I saw Sora kill him… didn't I? … I'm kind of glad he's not here to save me this time… it would break my heart to see him risk his life for someone he cares nothing for. _

The serenity that occasionally comes with fear filled her face, and she turned around, prepared to meet her fate, shutting her eyes in the process.

"I don't care what you do to me… I'm ready to die now…" she said softly, without hope, then grunted in pain as all of her injuries decided that the time was perfect to make themselves known.

"What are you doing up from bed?" a familiar voice shouted, filled to the brim with concern.

She opened her eyes. In front of her stood Sora, his deep blue eyes looking at her intently, containing with them that worried look that is the hallmark of mothers and caretakers across the multiverse, the oft dreaded "mother hen stare". A medium sized backpack was on his back, stuffed to the point that Namine could practically hear the seams ripping from where she stood.

"With these injuries, you should be in bed, resting, not up and about like this! Those assholes did a real number on you, you certainly deserve the rest." Said Sora.

"I… thought you had left me here, so …" muttered Namine, a blush forming on her face, suddenly feeling ashamed of herself for causing him to worry so much about her. Tears began to form in her eyes. Sora's eyes widened in shock, and then understanding took ahold of him.

"Namine…" he said, reaching for her, pulling her into a gentle hug. A few tears ran down his cheek.

"Oh, Namine… " and without quite realizing what he was doing, he softly kissed her. As first kisses went, it was actually quite enjoyable for both parties, atleast until they realized exactly what they were doing, after which Sora broke off the kiss with all the haste that a 16 year old boy kissing an extremely pretty girl could muster.

Blushing a deep scarlet, Sora picked up the stunned Namine and brought her to the bed. He placed her upon the bed, and, well, tucked her in. He then ran off to a small side room to clear his head and put some things away. All the while, Namine sat in stunned silence, unable to believe what had just occurred. She pressed her hand to her lips and smiled as she fell asleep.

**Chapter is done with. More on the way. I know I stopped in the middle, but hey even I need sleep. Will update soon. I like this story. Read and review please. **


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